EBED MELECH - BIBLICAL PEOPLE I'M CURIOUS ABOUT (PART 4 OF 6)

Ebed-Melech telling the king about Jeremiah, Lifeway Collection

I'm guessing that Ebed-Melech may be the best known individual in this six part series... okay, one of the two best known (next week will be another you may have heard of. I remember as a child reading two versions of Ebed-Melech's first of two appearances in Scripture.

Like last week's subject, Urijah, Ebed-Melech is mentioned solely in the book of Jeremiah. That's probably the main thing they have in common. In Jeremiah 26 where Urijah mentioned, it was the people wanting to kill Jeremiah and the princes who defended him. In Jeremiah 38, the princes wanted to kill the prophet and Ebed-Melech was the rescuer. Urijah fled the king of Judah in fear, Ebed-Melech boldly implored the king of Judah to intervene. 

For those unfamiliar with the story, the princes asked permission of King Zedekiah to throw Jeremiah in a pit. This was when Jerusalem was beseiged by Babylon and Jeremiah probably would not survive. Ebed-Melech went before the King, told him that Jeremiah's life was at stake, and asked permission to pull him out. He not only tossed Jeremiah the rope to tie underneath him, but also rags to put under his armpits to protect him. 

The NKJV calls him a eunuch, with a note that the word can be translated as "official." In From Every People And Nation: A Biblical Theology of Race, author J. Daniel Hays points out that translators and commentators incorrectly consider the dark skinned Cushites like Ebed-Melech as servants when the text does not require that interpretation. In this case, he states the Scripture implies that Ebed-Melech was someone King Zedekiah would listen to, more so than if he was someone's servant. 

Likewise, the picture above of Ebed-Melech makes him look someone who could have used physical help in pulling Jeremiah out of the pit. The drawing I saw in the Bible Story made him look more like he could have played football, as well as a cheerful smile on his face.

This is one of my favorite stories, because it does not end here. The next chapter tells of the fall of Jerusalem. During that tumult, God sent Jeremiah with this message: 

"Go and speak to Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Behold, I will bring My words upon this city for adversity and not for good, and they shall be performed in that day before you. But I will deliver you in that day," says the LORD, "and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. For I will surely deliver you, and you shall not fall by the sword; but your life shall be as a prize to you, because you have put your trust in Me," says the LORD.' " Jeremiah 39:16-18, NKJV 

I love the love God shows to Ebed-Melech in this passage, enough for Him to send His prophet in a time of calamity to give him a message of encouragement.

 

URIJAH THE PROPHET - BIBLICAL PEOPLE I'M CURIOUS ABOUT (PART 3 OF 6)

The Murder of Zwingli by Karl Jauslin

I'm sure there's several questions about this entry. Such as "Who is Urijah the Prophet?" "Is this the same as Urijah the Hittite?" "Why does he have a picture of a Reformer when the blog's about a Biblical character, and why does it have to be a depressing one at that?"

I'll start with the last question first. You know I usually include at least one picture, but when you're dealing with obscure people as this series is, you'll find there aren't many artists painting these. I was surprised and pleased to find an artistic rendition of Naamah (two weeks ago). So I'll have to go with loose connections, but by the end of the blog, you'll know the connection.

Urijah the Prophet is my moniker for him - he's not called a prophet, though he does what prophets do. And no, it's not Urijah the Hittite, Bath-sheba's first husband. But let me give the immediate context.

Jeremiah 26 starts with Jeremiah, as usual, warning of God's judgment. I've noticed that people love hearing about God judging others for their sins, but it's a different story when the spotlight shines on them. And the people were not happy with Jeremiah's gloom and doom, and wanted to kill him. 

One unique thing that happened here is that the princes came to Jeremiah's rescue (not so later in Jeremiah's ministry). They told the people that Micah son of Moresheth (the minor prophet) gave a similar message a century or so earlier and he wasn't executed. So they spared Jeremiah.

Then, we get to verses 20 - 23 of that chapter:

"Now there was also a man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath Jearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah. And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid and fled, and went to Egypt. Then Jehoiakim the king sent men to Egypt: Elnathan the son of Achbor, and other men who went with him to Egypt. And they brought Urijah from Egypt and brought him to Jehoiakim the king, who killed him with the sword and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people." Jeremiah  26:20-23, NKJV

No, we don't know more about this Urijah than this. Did God call him as He did Jeremiah? It doesn't say. Was his fleeing to Egypt a lack of faith? Maybe, but we have no record that his fear was disobedience to God. 

That is why I felt the painting of the murder of Zwingli the Reformer was appropriate for this blog. Not completely: Zwingli went into battle and was killed in the fighting. But we need to remember that obedience to God is not a guarantee that we won't face the consequences from an ungodly King.